Waking From Nightmares: Visitors
by Oracle Phoenix
Summary: Cuddy and the ducklings visit House in the hospital. A brief, mostly comedic, interlude to the story Waking From Nightmares.
1. Dr Cuddy

**Waking From Nightmares – Visitors**

**Author: **Oracle Phoenix

**Rated: **T for Teen (Just in case)

**Genre:** Comedy/Drama

**Pairing: **None specific. Maybe a little House/Cameron implied.

**Spoilers: **Probably not but if you haven't at least seen Season 1 then you shouldn't be here. Go buy it or even rent it and educate yourself. Do it now. _Shame_.

**Summary: **Cuddy and the ducklings visit House in the hospital. A brief, mostly comedic, interlude to the story Waking From Nightmares.

**Disclaimer: **Everyone knows none of this is mine. Do we have to keep rubbing it in?

**A/N:** So…I was reading through the story and decided that it was getting a little odd that only Cameron and Wilson had visited him. Now, granted, they do like him more than most but considering that they all work in the hospital, everyone probably should have made it there at some point. By the time I realized this, however, there was no convenient place to slip the others in, so I wrote this instead. It's short, just two little sections, but it should tie up a loose end or two. Reviews are, as always, appreciated but I won't hold you to it. This isn't exactly one of life's really big deals. LOL Thank you for your interest in the story. It means a lot. :D

**Warning** Don't read this without at least starting the main story. You'll be completely lost. Quite cunning, don't you think? ;-)

**Part One: Dr. Cuddy**

The day House woke up, Dr. Lisa Cuddy walked into his room just after Dr. Wilson walked out.

"Careful," Wilson warned with a smirk as he passed her. "I'm sure you can imagine the mood he's in."

"Don't worry, I promise not to feed the bear," Cuddy replied with a smile.

She found House sitting up in bed and looking like he'd had a long day. A lump formed in her throat at the sight of him looking so tired. He could be a complete pain in the ass, and usually took every opportunity to do just that, but it was hard not to like him once you really got to know him well. She knew him better than most and she hated to see him like this. He looked up at her but waited for her to speak first.

"Hey," she began quietly, not quite sure what to say. "How are you feeling?"

"Oh, never better."

"Well, it's good to see your sarcasm remains intact. No worries then."

"It's comforting, isn't it, to know that whatever happens, I'll always be able to stylishly offend the world in every possible way. It's really, kind of, what keeps me waking up in the morning."

She laughed; the first time since she'd heard the news about what had happened to him, and sat down in the chair by his bed.

"Do me a favor," he said, his eyes narrowing slightly as he watched her invite herself in for a longer stay. "Don't act concerned about me. Cameron and Wilson have already made their rounds and if anyone cares any more, my head will explode."

"I promise," she said through a grin.

"And if I have to have the 'I just know you'll get _all_ better' conversation with one more person I may be driven to kill," he continued to rant.

"I'll keep it to myself."

"Fantastic. So…how's things?"

"Oh, ya know…the usual. The clinic hasn't been the same without you…all smiles and satisfied customers…"

"Too bad. It's not a job well done until someone leaves in tears."

"Really? Wow, if I had known that it was just your serious devotion to the job coming through all along, I wouldn't have given you such a hard time."

"Well, I'm glad you understand now how much I really care," he said, trying, and failing, to achieve a look of pained martyrdom. It earned him a knowing smirk.

"So, I take it you found Cameron when you woke up." She decided to change the subject with a small push for information.

"Unfortunately."

"Oh come on, waking up with a beautiful young woman holding vigil over you has got to be better than a kick in the balls. At least."

"Yeah. It would make me feel really special if she didn't have a one-patient-a-week quota for the gig."

"Oh she _is not_ that bad and you know it."

"Is to."

"Is not."

He stuck his tongue out at her petulantly.

"You just keep telling yourself that because the alternative; that she really cares about you, scares the crap out of you."

"Oh yeah, I had forgotten about my _tragically mangled _heart. How _do_ I even _begin_ to cope with it?"

"You don't."

"Ha." He glared at her half-heartedly.

"One day, when you realize I'm right, I expect an apology…in the form of gifts, please.

"Ha," he repeated unenthusiastically, raising a skeptical eyebrow. Then, most embarrassingly, he yawned. The morphine in the IV was getting to him. And he hadn't even gotten to her yet. Very disappointing.

"I should let you rest," said Cuddy. "I've got to get back to work anyway."

"Yeah, wouldn't want the hospital to implode because you turned your back."

"Very true, although I'm probably safe since you're trapped in here." She smiled. "I'll see you later."

"Sounds good."

"Oh, and House?" She turned around as she reached the door and he looked up at her inquiringly. "I just know you'll get _all_ better."

He rolled his eyes with a huff and turned away from her as violently as his pain would allow.

She left the room with a smile on her face. She'd expected a much more difficult conversation but it sounded like he'd had enough of those already. He was notorious for hiding behind his sarcasm and banter but she'd gotten the feeling that he was actually dealing better than last time. In any case, she wasn't really worried. In spite of his attempts to drive them away, he _did_ have friends. And she knew they would take care of him…whether he liked it or not.

**A/N: **Part one of two. TBC…


	2. Two Thirds Ducklings

**A/N: **Part two of two…Woohoo! Hmm…that sorta rhymed there for a second. Neat! oo What do you want from me? It's 2 AM and I'm giddy. Anyhow…Onward then.

**Part Two: 2/3 Ducklings**

The next day, around noon, House was watching TV. At least, he wanted everyone to _think _he was watching TV so that they would leave him alone. Altogether the day before, he'd had probably five, maybe ten, minutes to himself. And he'd been unconscious for most of that. It felt like half the hospital had been in to stare worriedly at him, including people who barely spoke to him and/or purposely gave him a wide berth in hallways. After all, who knew when he might suddenly realize the futility of it all and burst into tears? Major entertainment value in that he supposed.

Why was it that when you were at your most miserable, everyone suddenly wanted to be your friend? Just for the first day or two, mind you. They all seemed to fall just shy of actual commitment. People whose names you couldn't even remember just tumbled out of the wood-work in droves. It was obnoxious. And it made him acutely aware that he wasn't going to recover anywhere near fast enough. He wished he could go home. Thankfully, he had remarkably few real friends and for everyone else, the novelty had already worn off. The way he had it figured, he had only one more unnecessary visit to endure and it mercifully promised to be neither concerned nor caring. Actually, it was surprisingly overdue.

At that moment, the door slid open and the remaining 2/3 of his ducklings straggled in. Chase had on his best 'I really do care, I swear' face that, sadly, always fell short of actually giving a crap. Foreman looked little more than curious. House breathed a silent sigh of relief. This should be a quick, in-and-out job. Five minutes, tops. Then he would be home free. At least until Cameron got her courage back. Half an hour at least then.

"You're late. What? Yesterday all tied up? I'm hurt." He didn't look it but it was enough to set Chase off.

"Sorry, we were busy with the patient all day."

"Same one? Whatever happened with her anyway?"

"It was an infection in her brain," Foreman cut in. "The CT didn't show it the first time because it hadn't advanced to the point that it was visible. Her symptoms worsened and became more focused so we did it again. We've started IV antibiotics. She's doing much better."

"Sounds like fun. Sorry I missed it," House replied.

"We were one person short so we didn't really get a break yesterday. Anyway, we figured Cameron had you covered," Foreman continued, not bothering to hide his grin. He could guess how Cameron had acted when House woke up. And how little House had cared for it.

"Yeah, about that…Two days I was unconscious. Two days and not one of you could be bothered to relocate her."

"She was…very determined," Chase said, raising his eyebrows with more than a hint of sarcasm.

Foreman cut the conversation off before it could turn against Cameron completely. He knew she meant well and it wasn't really her fault that she had managed to pick the one guy in the world who wanted absolutely nothing to do with her affection.

"Anyway," he said quickly, "we just wanted to stop in and check on you. Make sure you were doing okay."

"Yeah, and about your leg," Chase began, "I'm sure it'll be…"

"Don't go there," House cut in waspishly. "Trust me, just let it go."

"Okay…"

"Goodbye." House took the liberty of saying it for him.

As the two men left the room, House overheard Foreman telling Chase, "Man, I told you to keep your mouth shut." He sounded like he was laughing.

House leaned back against the pillow and closed his eyes. As an afterthought, he turned up the volume on the TV, just in case.

**A/N: **Okay, so that's it for this little arc. Hope you all enjoyed it. Keep looking for updates on the main story. They've been infrequent, I know, but I'm hoping to remedy that. Thanks for reading and reviewing!


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